Area water agencies are calling on residents and businesses to voluntarily cut back on their water usage because of the area's record dry year.

But water agency officials predict that mandatory measures to conserve could be enforced by the end of the summer.

"If we're not careful, the amount of water could deplete rapidly," said Steve Wickstrum, Casitas Municipal Water District general manager. "If we don't take care of it soon enough, we could end up with serious episodes of water shortages."

Almost two-thirds of the United States has been affected by drought conditions in the past year, said Matt Bryant, general manager of the Ventura River County Water District, which serves 7,000 customers in the Ojai Valley area. Southern California is encountering extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which represents a consensus of federal and academic scientists.

Most water used outdoors

In areas like Ojai, where a drought was declared May 9, this year has been the driest since 1923, Bryant said.

The majority of local water is used outdoors. Water officials strongly advise the public not to water lawns and gardens between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. because water will simply evaporate in the heat.

"Watering during the middle of the day is probably the biggest waste of water," Bryant said.

Across the region, the demand for water has increased, and in some areas the seasonal demand has peaked earlier than usual because of the dry conditions.

"The June water demand was up since the same time in 2004, because it has been drier longer," Bryant said. "People don't realize how much water they're using."

Western Ventura County, including Ojai, Ventura and the Lake Casitas area, depends primarily on the annual amount of local rainfall.

Out-of-the-area supply

Much of central and eastern Ventura County and the Agoura Hills-Westlake Village area is almost entirely dependent on an outside supply of water delivered through the State Water Project.

There, officials are also encouraging consumers to conserve.

"If we did not have imported water supplies, we would be in an extremely severe drought," said Randal Orton, interim director of resource conservation and public outreach for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Colorado River are the two leading sources of water for the east county. Because of low rainfall in the north, and reduced pumping of water from the Delta to protect endangered fish, authorities warn that a drought management plan may be accelerated, which means conservation will be enforced, not just encouraged.

"Colorado River conditions are at all-time lows, and with the recent dry winter months in northern California — our two primary supplies — this has really been leading us to call for more diligence in conservation," said Eric Bergh, manager of resources for the Calleguas Municipal Water District.

"There are extremely dry conditions, not just in Southern California, but in the entire state."

Water officials worry that when people turn on the tap and see running water, they assume it is an endless supply.

"(Water) is a natural resource that is limited in this arid climate," Wickstrum said. "Here in west Ventura County, we're reliant on local rainfall."

Storage increased

The amount of rainfall over Lake Casitas this year has been the lowest amount since the 1880s, Wickstrum said.

An increased storage capacity has improved the outlook in the east county.

"We feel at this point we're more than able to meet the demands for water because we increased water storage by a factor of 10 since the last drought," Bergh said.

But, officials warn, given the low reservoir levels statewide, conservation is key.

"If we have another very dry winter, we'll likely see many water cutbacks next year," said Jeff Reinhardt, of the Las Virgenes water district. "The water that we save this year may turn out to be the water that we need next year."